“Enlightenment is not imagining figures of light but
making the darkness conscious.”
Carl Gustav Jung
Upcoming Events
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Fall Workshop
Saturday October 21, 2023
Subversive Outsider Within:
Trickster as an Agent Provocateur of the Paradoxical Self
with Judith Cooper, Psy. D
“He is the god of the unexpected, of luck, of coincidences, of synchronicity...Whenever things seem fixed, rigid, stuck, Hermes introduces fluidity, motion, new beginnings and the confusion that almost inevitably precedes new beginnings." Stassinopoulos, Gods of Greece.
As one of the most powerful archetypes in the psyche, we all find ourselves in the grip of mercurial trickster energy, often without awareness. The archetype of the trickster defies easy classification and a unified definition due to its capricious and paradoxical nature. Jung named it an expression of the collective shadow. While it can be a source of confusion and thwarted individuation, trickster energy can be a catalyst in the psyche to kick-start the healing process by connecting the our conscious with unconscious contents to become more whole.
Etymologically, the root word “to trick” means to deceive and cheat, but also, significantly, to disrupt the ordinary. The “ordinary” is our firm and cemented belief systems about ourselves and others that we cling and hold tight to, even if they are not serving us. We experience trickster energy when boundaries are crossed between our awareness and our unconsciousness, such as slips of the tongue, frequent misunderstandings and miscommunications, anger outbursts, depressive episodes, a sudden urge to cry, or in the more formal practice of active imagination. Times of instability and transition in our lives like divorce, job loss, or a mid-life crisis are also openings for trickster energies to emerge. How can we better understand these obstacles and changes to more easily move forward toward healthier and fuller lives?
Trickster suffers from bad press and a negative reputation because of the simple confusion with the anti-social personality or psychopath, hiding this energy’s transformative aspects. We will distinguish between the “dirty trickster” and the purposeful trickster.
The goal of this presentation is to recognize Trickster in everyday life and, most of all, to honor and value this healing archetypal energy.
Film clips will be shown to illustrate the fundamental characteristics associated with the trickster.
Saturday, October 21, 2023
9:30 AM - 1:00 PM
(Doors open at 9a)
NEW LOCATION!
First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati
536 Linton Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219
Free off street parking available across the street from the entrance
$40 Members, $50-Non-Members
CEUs AVAILABLE
To Become a Member or Pay for Events:
Download & Print the Events & Membership Payment Form
and send with a check payable to: GCFJ c/o 2128 Julie Terrace, Cincinnati 45215
Cash payments available at events.
Judith Cooper, Psy.D. is a clinical psychologist and diplomate Jungian Analyst in private practice in Chicago. A graduate and member of the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago, she teaches and supervises in the Institute's Analyst Training Program, the two-year certificate Jungian Psychotherapy and Studies Program, and has lectured widely on the anima/animus and the use of film in clinical treatment. Dr. Cooper served as a clinical supervisor and director of training at an APA-accredited psychology doctoral internship program at a community mental health center. She taught a year-long course in the Institute's Analyst Training Program on Eros in Analysis in 2016, and more recently another class on love and sexuality, Seeking Embodiment. She presented at the Art and Psyche Conference in Sicily, Italy in 2015 on Jung and Barthes, When Art Wounds. A book chapter, co-authored with Gus Cwik, Psy.D., “Numinous images of a New Ethic: A Jungian view of Kieslowski’s The Decalogue” has been published in The Routledge International Handbook of Jungian Film Studies, 2018. She presented at the IAAP Congress in Vienna in August, 2019 on Hail, Aphrodite!: Re-sacralization of the Goddess of Love & Sex in David Ives’ Venus in Fur. Along with a colleague, Dan Ross, they have recorded and posted on the Chicago Institute’s web-site (jungchicago.org), seven podcasts in a series called Healing Cinema, analyzing classical and contemporary films from a Jungian viewpoint; films include Hitchcock’s Rear Window, The Lost Daughter, and most recently, the acclaimed film Tar.
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Jungian Book Study Group
The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul
By Connie Zwieg, Ph.D.
Six Fridays
September 15, 22, and 29; October 6, 13, and 20
12:30PM – 2:00PM
Group led by Lisa Maechling Debbeler, JD, MA, Jungian Psychoanalyst
Limited to 10 Participants, in person, by order of registration
As we age, we are faced with yet another of life’s demands for adaptation. Jung thought that with each new point of balance and satisfaction in our lives, there will follow an imperative for further evolution and change. The evolution required in the last quarter of life is not well-imagined by our culture, and it is hard for many to shift their experience of themselves from a career or vocation identity to something more. Working through our fears, defenses, and inhibitions means exploring both our personal shadow and the cultural shadow so that we can offer a welcoming hand to new ideas, new attitudes and new depths. This book study group will use the text as a starting point for personal examination and group process. Join us by registering below.
Location: First Unitarian Church
536 Linton St, Cincinnati, OH 45219
Fees: $180. GCFJ Members
$210. Non-members
CEUs offered for an additional $30
Please send a check to:
Jim Slouffman
3327 Glenhurst Pl.
Cincinnati, OH 45209
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